The present invention relates in general to wood and coal burning stoves and barbecues, and, in particular, to a new and useful combustion apparatus which has a front wall made of transparent material that can be raised, the apparatus being provided for burning wood embers or other solid fuel and for cooking foods in a variety of ways.
Barbecue cooking is universally preferred, both for dietetic reasons and because of the flavor it imparts to food. Up until now, barbecue cooking has been carried out with primitive techniques which have various disadvantages. It is difficult to light wood or coal that is commonly used to form glowing embers, either for cooking or for use in a fireplace. The lighting procedure is generally slow and smoky. This is especially true when lighting wood that is not completely dry. Fans and bellows are often used to aid in the lighting procedure. This produces additional smoke which, upon leaving the fireplace through the chimney, is emitted into the atmosphere. Some smoke condenses on the inside of the chimney, due to imperfect combustion, leaving greasy deposits of soot which must eventually be cleaned.
Up to now, it has also been impossible to barbecue meat or fish indoors, due to the emission of odors and smoke. It is also impractical to barbecue foods in restaurants using wood embers because of the long time it takes to form the embers and the large quantity of embers needed for cooking in a restaurant. One technique is to place wood on a cage and then light the wood to form embers. Embers are then removed, little by little, as they are needed for barbecuing. Since the embers give off heat in an uneven manner, that is, excessive heat being given off initially with the heat then tapering off, constant attention is required when cooking with embers. Meat being barbecued must be turned repeatedly to avoid burning because of fat dripping from the meat onto the embers. This provokes the issuance of flames from the embers. The additional heat produced by these flames is not good for the cooking process.
When the embers are not properly lit, smoke is also given off which has a negative impact on the taste of the food being barbecued. Often, in place of wood embers, it is necessary to utilize a gas flame in conjunction with blocks of volcanic stone for barbecue cooking. Fats dripping from the food strike the heated volcanic stones causing high flames and possible damage to the food being cooked. Flames and combustion products thus permeate the food. The issuance of flames and smoke also require the use of mechanically vented hood to remove smoke and vapors.
Another disadvantage of prior barbecuing methods is that embers may jump from the combustion area of the barbecue, thus posing a danger. Heat is also emitted in an uncontrolled fashion to the ambient atmosphere. Due to the aspiration of air through the hood or flue of a barbecue, cold currents of air are also induced near floor level. This makes it necessary to close the flue as soon as possible after combustion has been completed.
Another disadvantage of prior barbecue methods is in how the flowing embers are formed. Whether the wood is initially placed on andirons or in a cage, considerable amounts of wood must be consumed until embers appropriate for cooking are produced. A fire which is too small does not form enough embers for complete cooking so that near the end of the cooking process, carbon deposits are formed in the barbecue apparatus. A grill which may be used for cooking is also encrusted with such deposits requiring a lengthy cleaning process. Cleaning is also required for gas and electric ovens because of deposited fats which have dripped from the foods being cooked.